4 Years Later
by Aubrey Etta
Summary: Four years after the events of the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter's happy life with Ginny is interrupted by the Dursleys. /chap 2 changed
1. Chapter 1

It had been four years since Voldemort's death, and Harry was very happy with his life. He married Ginny nine months ago. He was a successful junior auror, she was a proud Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, and they lived comfortably in Grimmauld Place.

The last time Harry had given his relatives, the Dursleys, more than a passing thought, was two weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, when he had helped transport them from their safe house to a new home, not far from where their house at Number 4 Privet Drive once stood. They had all grumbled about their time in the wizarding world (although, Hestia had assured Harry that they were well-taken care of), and Petunia was horrified to hear that Death Eaters had destroyed their house.

Dudley had been surprisingly polite and uncomplaining. Dudley did not seem interested in repeating the one moment in which he had expressed his concern for Harry. So Harry dropped the family off at their new house uneventfully, and that was the last he had seen of them.

All of this to say, Harry Potter was very surprised when Rudolf Hutton, one of the highest-ranking aurors in the Ministry ran into him in the hall and asked, "Have you heard about the Dursleys?"

"No," Harry answered, "I haven't talked to them in years."

Auror Hutton frowned, "I thought I sent someone down to tell you." Hutton was a very forgetful wizard, so it was likely that he had written it down on one of his many scrolls and then given it no thought since. He was a no-nonsense kind of person, who demanded perfection from every one of his subordinates, even when his instructions failed to be conveyed. "They've been attacked."

"They've what?" Harry exclaimed.

Hutton quickly explained, "They are all fine now, but yesterday their house exploded. They weren't inside. Since they are your relatives, we have kept an eye on them, and so that is how we know that a witch or wizard is responsible."

"A witch or wizard?" Harry could not contain his surprise. "Do you think a Death Eater did it?"

Although Voldemort had died several years ago, many of his supporters had escaped capture. There were those who still believed the Dark Lord could be resurrected yet again, and even more who simply had no interest in returning to normal lives.

"Either that or one of your fans," Hutton answered, "The story of your childhood is widely known, and so we're considering that someone may be trying to seek revenge on your behalf."

Harry gasped, "I don't want that."

Hutton nodded. "You're a good man, Harry Potter. Go talk to Marina Pierce. She has been trying to get in touch with you to figure out what to do with them. And don't forget to have that report on my desk by Monday."

With absolutely no clue what report he was talking about, Harry nodded and walked off in the opposite direction. He found Marina Pierce, a deputy head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, in her office, surrounding my other Ministry employees, whom she dismissed immediately. Although Harry had never met Marina Pierce before, he observed immediately that she seemed to be a grumpy, middle-aged witch, and judging by the cats pictures on her walls, not far removed from Dolores Umbridge.

"Potter, there you are," she snapped, "I have your relatives."

"I heard," he said, "What can I do to help?"

"We've got Obliviators and members of the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee on the ground, trying to convince the muggles that whatever happened was normal to them."

"What did happen?" Harry asked.

"We are still investigating," she responded briskly, "For now, we just need somewhere for the Dursleys to stay where they will be safe. We can't put them up in a hotel; it needs to be somewhere protected. Nasty people, by the way. They didn't seem to care one bit that we've been watching them for their own protection."

"I don't imagine they would," said Harry, "so what can you do with them?"

Pierce glared at him through her large pink glasses. "They are your relatives, aren't they? You're responsible for them now."

"Me? Can't someone else-"

"Potter, our resources are stretched thin," she snapped, "You need to find somewhere for them to go."

Harry knew better than to argue with that tone, so he just nodded while Pierce explained the rest of the plan. Satisfied, Pierce rose from her chair and directed Harry's attention to a door in her wall. She explained that they were waiting in another room, and he needed to pick them up. Without another word, she sat back down and called the others back into her room.

Harry stepped into the other room. The door snapped shut behind him and then disappeared.

Vernon and Petunia sat stiffly on a couch, while Dudley stood, examining newspaper clippings on the walls. All three turned when Harry entered the room. Although Harry's aunt and uncle seemed angry, Dudley's face betrayed no emotion.

"Boy, what have you done?" Vernon snarled, "Our house was destroyed by your lot."

"What do the neighbors think?" Petunia shrieked.

"The neighbors, er, they think you're dead," Harry explained. Then he realized what a poor hello that was.

Petunia sat down. Concerned, Vernon put a hand on her shoulder.

"Right, er, I'm really sorry about your house. I promise that the Ministry of Magic is trying to find whoever did it," Harry said, trying to seem confident and reassuring. Judging by their facial expressions, he was not succeeding. "There are still dangerous wizards out there who might try to get at me by hurting you," Harry explained. "We think it's best if you start a new life somewhere else. We're working on creating new identities and finding you a new place to live."

"Look at all the trouble you've caused, boy," Vernon growled. "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened to us."

Dudley rolled his eyes. "Dad, if it weren't for Harry, we'd be dead. That's why we went into hiding in the first place, remember? We're in danger."

"We're in danger because of him!"

Harry cut in, "And I really am sorry about that. I promise I'm trying to get your lives back as normal and ordinary as possible. It will just take a few weeks, maybe two months."

"Two months!" Petunia gasped.

"What will we do until then?" Vernon demanded.

"You'll have to stay with me," Harry admitted. "Don't worry, I have a large house. My godfather left it to me. And you can still go into town - in London - and go about your business, just come back to the house so that I know you're safe."

This announcement did not go over well, but ultimately the Dursleys had no other choice.


	2. Chapter 2

p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Even after living with wizards for the better part of a year four years ago, Dudley Dursley had never gotten used to magic. It was cool, he thought, but strange. Definitely abnormal, although he didn't consider that as unforgivable as his parents did. In fact, Dudley was even a little relieved to see his cousin. /spanHarry looked good after all these years, not like the scrawny kid he used to beat up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"So Dudley had no reservations in accepting Harry's proffered hand, but his parents were less inclined to touch their nephew./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""It will just take a second, we're going to Apparate and just show up at the house," Harry explained./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"When this did not change the doubtful looks on Vernon and Petunia's faces, he sighed. "The other option is to go through the fireplace./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"In unison, all three Dursleys physically turned to stare at the roaring fire. Only then did Vernon hold Petunia's hand and Petunia reach for Harry's./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Suddenly, they arrived. Dudley did not even have time to blink before he realized he was in a completely different place. Nausea overwhelmed him, and he doubled over./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Apparation is difficult to get used to," Harry apologized./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Ruddy terrible is what it is," Vernon grumbled./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry nodded. "We won't have to do it again any time soon. It'll pass in just a moment"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"The muggles did not respond. Vernon and Dudley were trying to hold back their gags, and Petunia held a hand up to her face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""This house is protected by magic, so only people we know and trust can even see that it exists. We've renovated the whole thing and taken down a lot of Dark Magic, so you should be very comfortable. Just-" /spanHarry stopped when he saw how overwhelmed his aunt looked./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""I'll show you where you can sleep. When you're ready come meet me downstairs, and we can talk over the details."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Petunia nodded, and Dudley said, "Thank you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Petunia said nothing when she saw the room she would share with her husband, but Vernon made a comment on how small it was. Years of living with their comments taught Harry how to ignore this, and he went to show Dudley his room across the hall./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"After unpacking some of his clothes, Dudley went to find his parents, who were standing silently in the room Harry had given them. Their suitcases sat on the floor untouched./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Should we go downstairs?" Dudley suggested./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"The look of disgust on Vernon's face was clear. Rather than argue, Dudley chose to go whether or not they came with him. It was silly, he knew, that he was a little nervous to walk around his cousin's house. It was just Harry, after all. Although it wasn't. The Harry he remembered was a weak little kid. Now, Harry Potter was a man, apparently a war hero. Oddly, realizing that his parents were following him, did not give Dudley any confidence in himself./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"They found Harry pretty easily. He sat in a comfortable-looking armchair, reading a newspaper that had moving last time they saw Harry, all three Dursleys would have screamed or at least flinched at the sight, but not now. After their long year with some exposure to magic, Dudley was impressed. He hoped he would have a chance to check out the newspaper later. Vernon and Petunia skillfully avoided giving it any attention./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"When he saw them, Harry set the paper on the table. "How did you like your rooms?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"It was clear Vernon and Petunia were not going to answer, so Dudley said that his was just fine./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry gestured for his relatives to sit down, and they did so. Vernon and Petunia sat on the edges of the couch, trying to avoid as much contact with the piece to furniture as possible. Dudley, on the other hand, made himself comfortable./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry was just about to speak when they heard the front door open and close. Dudley noticed that Harry gripped his wand tightly, but released it when he heard the voice./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Harry, you here?" It was a woman./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""In the living room!" he called back./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Aw, I was hoping you'd be naked in bed when I got here," she responded./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry turned bright red. "Ginny! I told you that the Dursleys were here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"A redhead young woman stepped into the room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""I know, which is why I had to mess with you," she said, smirking, then giving Harry a quick kiss on the lips. She sat on the arm of his chair, facing the Dursleys./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""How was practice?" he asked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Great, we're going to kick Appleby's asses next week. I'm Ginny, by the way," Ginny added to their /spanguests, "Since Harry forgot his manners."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry nodded. "And this is Ginny, my wife. You may remember her brothers from when they paid us a visit a few years ago."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Dudley smiled slightly. "They're the ones who made my tongue grow."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry chuckled. "That was Fred and George. They opened a joke shop now, that sells all sorts of products like those."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Dudley noticed that Ginny quieted and lowered her head slightly when Harry mentioned her brothers, but he was not sure why./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Sorry we didn't come to the wedding," Dudley said politely. "We got the invitation, but well…" he trailed away, not wanting to confess how angrily Vernon had acted, tearing up the beautiful letter and throwing it /spaninto the fireplace. Harry seemed to understand, as he said nothing./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Since you're going to be staying here for a while, we should probably talk about a few things," Ginny announced./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry nodded. "The house is perfectly safe, but you just can't leave it. If you need anything, you can tell Kreacher, Ginny, or me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Creature?" Petunia asked delicately./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Kreacher!" Harry called./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Petunia screamed when she saw the creature in the middle of the room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Yes Master," he croaked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Hello Kreacher, these are the Dursleys," Harry said, "They are going to be our guests for a bit, so please get them whatever they need."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Kreacher bowed. "It is an honor to serve Master's family."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""You don't have to do anything you don't want to, though," Ginny quickly added./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Though they still refused to participate in Hermione's SPEW, both Harry and Ginny fully supported her /spanefforts to protect magical creatures. They treated Kreacher as kindly as they could, and he eventually warmed up to them, even Ginny who he no longer called derogatory names related to her lineage. The couple even paid Kreacher and tried to talk him into taking vacation days on occasion./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Harry said to the Durlseys, "Kreacher is our House Elf. He can clean your rooms, cook your meals, and bring you anything you want from the outside. Just ask him nicely."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""That – that – you mean we should mind our manners around . . . that," Vernon blustered./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""That's exactly what he means," Ginny said, with a steely look in her eyes. "And while we're at it, you are going to treat us with respect too. No calling us or our friends and family 'freaks' or anything like it. I've heard how you've treated Harry growing up, and I won't have it in my house. That goes double for Teddy. He's too young to understand why you're so narrow minded."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""You have a child?" Petunia asked, "You've only been married, what 8 months?" She honestly tried not to sound judgmental, though failing miserably. She was happy that, although Harry's life seemed surprisingly put together, he had a child at such a young age. At least her Dudders was not messing around with young girls./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Ginny shook her head. "No, no, Teddy's Harry's godson. His parents died in the war a few years ago."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Vernon grunted loudly. "I guess the boy's finding out what it's like to be responsible for an unwanted child. What comes around goes around, huh?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Ginny's eyes turned steely as she slid off the counter. Sauntering up to lean into Vernon's face, she hissed, "We will never treat Teddy as anything less than our son. Unlike you, Harry is happy to give Teddy all the love and care he deserves. If I ever hear you say anything like that again, I promise you that you will regret it. Are we clear?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Vernon glanced at his wife and son. Petunia refused to meet his eyes, keeping her gaze focused on the table. On the other hand, Dudley returned the stare, challenging his father to respond. After a moment, Vernon blustered something about Harry making his own choices./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"By the way, we should probably warn you that we have some people coming over in about an hour," Harry said, trying to cut the tension./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""Oh, Harry, don't you think we should cancel?" Ginny asked, "What with your family here and all?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""It's too late to cancel," he answered. "They can stay upstairs, keeping perfectly silent and pretending they don't exist."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;"Ginny chuckled at the horrified looks on the Dursley's faces./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"span style="font-size: 13.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; color: black;""I'm joking," Harry explained, "You can come to the party if you want."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;""Just remember your manners," Ginny added./p 


End file.
